[citation needed] Traditionally, scholars count up to ten case forms in Lithuanian.
However, at least one case is reduced to adverbs and certain fixed expressions and another is extinct in the modern language.
Although grammatically the dual number can be applied to any word, in practice it was used quite sporadically during the last century.
Lithuanian nouns have five declensions, which are defined by the inflection in singular nominative and genitive cases.
Only a few borrowed words, like taksì – taxi, tabù – taboo, kupė̃ – compartment (in a train), coupé, are not subject to declension.
Each Lithuanian consonant (except [j]) has two forms: palatalized and non-palatalized ([bʲ]-[b], [dʲ]-[d], [ɡʲ]-[ɡ] and so on).
The letter i represents either the sound similar to i in the English lit or is a palatalization marker – softens the preceding consonant (ia = like e, iu = ü, io = ö; all samples where i is a softening marker are ia (ią), iu (iū, ių), io).
Other diphthongs are: uo, ai, ei, oi (this one is used only in foreign words; in Lithuanian-derivation it is present when a word kojinė 'sock, stocking' is pronounced shorter as koinė), ui, au (palatalized iuo, iai, iui, iau; there is no iei combination because ei is already soft and same to iai; a combination ie is only a diphthong and in use is succeeded by a consonant).
There are two consonants in Lithuanian, d and t, that become respectively dž [dʒ] and č [tʃ] when they precede a palatalization marker i (so, this does not include the softer sounds: i, į, y, ie, ė, e, ę) and they still have to be pronounced softer, like all other consonants preceding the palatalization marker.
-uo (masculine) There are also two feminine nouns of the fifth declension: sesuo (sister) and duktė (daughter).
In Lithuanian, adjectives have three declensions determined by the singular and plural nominative case inflections.
Masculine adjectives of the III-rd paradigm are of two types, they differ in plural nominative and dative: varinis – copper, brazen, laukinis – wild have pl.
Several forms have not only a pronoun added, but have different respective to non-pronominal adjectives ending syllable – longer sound retained: feminine singular nominative -o-ji, masculine singular instrumental and plural accusative, respectively -uo-ju, -uos-ius (the respective forms of a pronoun jis are juo, juos) and one with ogonek, feminine singular instrumental: -ą-ja, -ią-ja; or has a sound -m- not doubled: masculine singular dative and locative, masculine plural dative, feminine plural dative and instrumental, for example -a-jam, -a-jame, -ies-iems, not non-existing -am-jam, -ame-jame, -iems-iems.
Compare jis manęs laukia – 'he waits for me' and mano draugas – 'my friend' ('friend' is in masculine), but in jis mūsų laukia – 'he waits for us' and mūsų draugas – 'our friend', the two genitives coincide as in almost any word.
Duktė – daughter, and sesuo – sister, are the only two feminine words of the fifth declension, they have the suffix -er- in the other cases.
Two more words, dieveris m (older) – brother-in-law, and obelis f – apple tree, are the same case as moteris.
The word žmogus – man (human), historically had the nominative singular žmuo (compare Latin homō).
The words pats m, pati f – one/my/him/her/itself (also noun meanings: husband and wife) have also peculiarities.
Such use like akmenas, akmeno; dančio; šunio; rudenio; is a clear mistake and is not accepted.
The dialectal and older form sesuva (a type of sesuo), for example, can remain in the original paradigm with sg.
For example, among the variant forms of singular nominative sesuo within the fifth declension are archaic sesuoj, sesuon, sesuva.
A word judesys – move, is included for comparison with mėnesis (they have the same suffix -es- and are declined in the same declension, except sg.
Besides these cases, there are shifts, which occur commonly in a speech: pačio instead of paties, pečio instead of peties (the original variants are not used less).
Also note that inflection in the a-paradigm is different for nouns, adjectives, and pronouns in some cases.
The declension of Lithuanian nouns of the different declensional patterns are given compared with Latin, Sanskrit, Latvian (in a separate section), Old Prussian, Gothic, Ancient Greek and Russian.
When these Latin endings succeeded a labial sound, their vowel was originally ŏ: equos – horse, equom; servos – slave, serf, servom.
Such shortening is present in western and northern Lithuanian dialects: tėvas, -o – father, and tėvs, -o; dagas, -o – heat of the sun (from degti – to burn), and dags, -o.
In Prussian there existed only a shortened form, and it developed one step further in a part of the nouns: kaimis / kaimⁱs – village < kaims < kaimas (Lith.
Lithuanian instrumental -u derives from an older -uo, what is seen, for example, in pronominal (definite) adjective forms, pronouns: gerù (nom.
The ą, ę correspond to ų, į in dialects of eastern Lithuania and acc.